An investigation by Russian independent media outlet Mediazona, in collaboration with the BBC Russian Service, has confirmed the identities of 107,620 Russian military personnel killed in the war in Ukraine.
The latest report, covering the period from February 24, 2022, to May 8, 2025, shows an increase of 2,857 confirmed deaths since the previous update at the end of April. However, the media organizations emphasize that the actual number of Russian casualties is likely significantly higher.
Their data is based on publicly accessible sources, including obituaries, social media posts by relatives, local news reports, memorial events, and official statements from regional authorities. Volunteers involved in the project manually input and verify all data to avoid duplicates and inaccuracies.
The confirmed casualties include:
26,600 volunteers
17,100 recruited prisoners
Nearly 12,000 mobilized soldiers
Over 5,000 officers
In February, on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the media outlets published the complete list of named casualties for the first time.
Despite Russia’s recent gains in eastern Ukraine and Kursk Oblast, the progress has come at the cost of substantial personnel and equipment losses.
On February 24, Mediazona and Meduza jointly estimated that around 165,000 Russian troops had been killed since the invasion began, including nearly 100,000 in 2024 alone. President Volodymyr Zelensky later claimed on February 15 that Moscow had lost approximately 250,000 soldiers, with 20,000 deaths occurring in the battles for Kursk Oblast alone.
Moscow does not officially disclose casualty figures. However, a Russian Defense Ministry official reportedly revealed in December that the ministry had received 48,000 requests to identify missing soldiers.
In a separate interview with NBC, published on February 16, Zelensky stated that over 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed, with 380,000 wounded since the war began.
According to Ukraine’s General Staff, as of April 11, Russia has lost a total of 965,890 troops since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. This figure, which likely includes those killed, wounded, captured, or missing, aligns with estimates from Western intelligence agencies.
Amid continued efforts to broker a ceasefire, President Zelensky announced on May 11 that he would travel to Istanbul for peace talks on May 15, following President Vladimir Putin’s rejection of an earlier ceasefire proposal. Ukraine has insisted on a 30-day unconditional ceasefire as a prerequisite for engaging in peace negotiations.
Credit: Kyiv Independent
